Exercise

Realism HITs home

Before my introduction to High Intensity Training with HITuni I (like most) believed I could almost pre order the physique that I lusted for. Thanks to fantastic coaching from the HITuni team and my own researching on the subject of High Intensity Training and including an awesome blog post courtesy of Skyler Tanner, I now have my expectations firmly grounded in reality. (Here is Skyler’s article which highlights the slow gaining of muscle over a training career).

I had never been a regular at the gym in fact I made considerable efforts to bypass that route. However, I had dabbled in weight training, 3 months on then nothing for 6 months then back again on a routine that was most likely endorsed by some marvel superhero action star. Again I would become disenchanted and frustrated that I was not getting the results (hugely unrealistic I must add) that I craved.

In my teenage years I had consistently played a variety of sports and leaned towards the racket genre. The body type that I was born with is ectomorphic with a dash of mesomorph on the side and that combined with a rapid metabolism I have always had that “healthy” look. However after 7 years of absolutely no physical exercise I decided that it was time for a big change. This was down to varying factors. The main one being that I consistently felt lethargic. And another big one being that every couple of months I would suffer with lower back pain. I was fed up and something needed to be done.

I wouldn’t be packing these ‘guns’.

I had done some Internet research trying to find any way of avoiding the stereotypical grunting and chest beating of the gym and during that search my cousin pointed me towards HITuni, the home of High Intensity Training. It was here that my goals started to morph into realistic expectations. My belief that I could start a new workout and hit that non stop for 6 months and turn out looking just like Thor were shattered (gently) and a great deal of emphasis was placed on genetics and scientific based research, and the truth is that we are stuck with what we were dealt with in the beginning, our best option is to optimise our individual physiology.

For me it was a harsh reality to accept that I wasn’t going to get the ‘guns’ that I would have liked. That’s fine; it isn’t going to happen and I’ve dealt with it, once that realisation has firmly set in you can move on and start obtaining the benefits of a workout that is based on proven science and highly emphasises training in a very safe and controlled manner.

Another factor that I hadn’t paid the slightest second of attention to was diet, due to the fact that I find it very difficult to gain weight the quality of my food intake wasn’t a priority, until now! This was down to the fact that on the exterior I guess you could say I looked ok.

HIT trainer Simon Shawcross took the time to explain to me that weight gain and weight loss is hugely effected by diet and that correct exercise combined with an appropriate dietary approach would make a big difference to the outcome for me (gaining weight/lean tissue).

And so we started.

That’s me on the chest press (keeping the shoulders depressed)

The most dramatic results were within the first couple of weeks (always the case) where I dropped 1kg of fat and gained around 5kgs of lean tissue. After that the gains come slower, a lot slower but the encompassing health benefits I felt within my daily life were dramatic. I felt more clarity and far less exhausted all the time. And thanks to expert training on the HITGYM AIO (all in one multi station machine) the lower back pain that I used to experience has passed due to correct biomechanical exercises that we perform each workout.

I have found this type of training addictive along with it being very beneficial with regards to my over all health and so I decided to make personal training within the realm of High Intensity a career and will also continue blogging for HITuni.

Now I strive for strength, overall health and every ounce of lean tissue I can add to my frame, it has been well worth it and I welcome this never-ending life choice!